That's Karma
by crouchingbunny
Summary: Remember the old man in Jet? Well, he's back. Pay back's a well, you know.


A/N: I've had this idea for a long time but the commercials for _Jet's Return_ inspired me to finally write it down. I've actually based this off of an original fiction of mine. At least the main character. Anyway, read on. -Alecia CB.

o0o

_Never in my life_, Jin thought angrily as he limped down the tree lined trail. Honestly! Couldn't you even take a walk out of the house without getting assaulted by the younger generation? That young ruffian had stolen his supplies, his cane, and his dignity. _Damn him!_

Speaking of damns It also didn't help that the dam had burst, and he had had to take several detours just to get back where he had been the day before. All hopes of recovering his stolen goods were dashed.

He had been traveling alone, towards his sick sister's home. Now she would nag and nag and nag. 'How come you never visit me?' 'No wonder Jun left you' blah blah blah. In all honesty he was just visiting to make sure she was sick and/or dead. Terrible thing to say about ones own flesh and blood, but Mei Mei was an exception. Tormenting him since birth, and thereafter.

"And now I don't even have my cane," he said leaning his tired old bones on a tree root. Truthfully, the ruffian hadn't stolen his cane, merely threw it somewhere in the dense undergrowth of the forest. Jin just hadn't been able to find it being quite farsighted, and terribly feeble in his attempts to excavate the thick brush.

Jin fished around in his expansive red sleeves for his water flask, finding it he undid the stopper it with a small sound of exertion, and pressed it to his dry lips. The small draught restored his parched throat, and made his dry cough little more than an unpleasant memory. Standing, he replaced the flask back in his sleeve and continued on his way, he somewhat remembered a stream a mile or so up the trail were he could refill his flask and be on his way.

Strutting down the trail with renewed vigor Jin nearly missed the turn off, and silently cursed the gods for his arthritic knees as he started up the somewhat steep path that marked the stream. Panting he used his strong grip on a tree root to pull himself forward.

"Come on old top," he said straining to make the last few steps up the trail quick. He found that verbal encouragement often made the trek easier for him. Groaning he lurched forward and nearly fell face first onto the ground. Steadying himself, Jin looked around the hill top. To his right was a long drop off looking down into the flooded remains of the town. For the life of him, he still couldn't understand what good it did the rebels to have the town flooded. "Killing off their own people so we don't have to," he mused half heartedly. His navy days were well over, and he no longer felt any bloodlust.

"At least you have your looks," he said spotting the stream and walking over to it. He dipped the flask in the water, gazing at his reflection in a humbling manner. Where once there had been a mane of sooty black hair, a bald crown now gleamed in the evening light. He sighed and caught a glimpse of his missing teeth. Frowning, he noticed the wrinkles on his sallow cheeks, and the hollows under his eyes. He scowled and splashed the water angrily, distorting his reflection and sending ripples to the other side of the stream. "Then again maybe I don't."

Sighing dejectedly Jin put the lid back on the flask and dried it off before putting it back in his sleeve. His sack of belongings, as insignificant as it was, he left by the stream. He would just make camp here for the night, rest his bones and wait till the next day to finish the journey to his sisters.

Feeling a great more self pity than he had five minutes ago, Jin hastily gathered sticks for a fire. He found a rather large tree root amidst the autumn leaves and decided to use it as a makeshift cane. "Better than nothing," he said as he tested it's height. Almost as tall as his old one, just a little shorter. Making him stoop even more than usual as he hobbled along.

Settling for the meager amount of kindling he had found for a campfire, Jin began to stack the small branches. Crouching by the kindling, he struggled to find his center before issuing an unsatisfactory puff of smoke from his outstretched fingers. Sputtering with indignation, Jin scowled even more as he was not even able to light a simple campfire.

There was once a time, when he could have lit a fire without so much as a second thought, or a blink of the eye. _By the gods it just isn't fair! _He thought angrily. After relaxing himself a bit, and several more attempts he finally got the sticks to light. A pleasant warmth now suffused his aching limbs and upon finding a comfortable spot he settled for a nice long nap.

_Tweet a tweet a tweet. Croo ooo wskoo. _

"What in the name of-" Jin said as he heard an odd series of bird calls. Leaving his sentence on the verge of being finished, Jin used his makeshift cane to pull himself off of the ground. A sudden sense of being watched made the hair on Jin's head stand up straight. Slowing his breath, he began to look around the clearing with a new perspective. Every shadow held a pair of malevolent gleaming eyes, ready to pounce. After all, Jin's last brush in the forest did nothing what so ever to calm his nerves.

Steeling himself for a surprise attack Jin shifted the weight from his cane to his own feet. Even if he wasn't the freshest fish in the barrel, he still didn't fancy getting shot first. Laughing at his own inner monologue Jin hobbled around the little clearing waiting for the tree ruffians to come sliding from the trees just as before.

_Why, if I had only met up with him in my navy days_, he thought tightening his grip on the tree root. _I would have been more than a match for that sniveling rogue of a miscreant_, he grinned a little relishing the thought. As he rounded a rather large tree trunk he came face to face with the aforementioned miscreant. The shock in the brown eyes of the rebel and the realization of his current situation made his breath stop for just a fraction of a second. Just long enough for Jin to take in the two inches of ice that covered him, and kept him frozen to the trunk of a large tree.

"Well, well, well," said Jin straightening gladly and ignoring the precarious popping of his back. "What do we have here?" He asked, a mischievous gleam coming into his eyes as he basked in the ambience of the situation. And he was actually on top! Fancy that. The miscreants mouth dropped open as he registered the meaningful look on the old mans face. "Oh how the mighty have fallen, eh m'boy?" Jin said bathing in the glory of the moment.

"Sir…" the rebel began letting his sentence trail off in a gust of wind. Jin shook his head at the irony of the situation, preparing to lecture the poor boy.

"Now now sonny," he began prancing from one leg to the next with pure delight, adjusting the grip his hand had on the branch. "Don't be frightened. I won't be harming you… much."

o0o

I'll just leave the rest of the story to your imagination. Hope you enjoyed, I love feeback. Poor Jet. -CB.


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